New Love Springs

Chapter 9 - A New Place A New Start

Toby had no idea about the killing referenced in the diary. He felt that as he read, the shock grew worse, like a veil slowly washing over him until it started to sink in. At first, the veil had brushed over only slightly, as he felt maybe the man he had begun to trust and lived with must have just made an accidental killing. Maybe Jeremy Norrington's 'heart attack' was actually a case of manslaughter? As he read on, it felt that the veil of shock had submerged him until he could no longer breathe.

He had so many questions he couldn't possibly ask. Beside the grief there was a thankfulness that Nellie had protected him from the vicious murderer who she loved. It couldn't have been that simple though. He gradually came to the conclusion that he could barely hold a grudge against Sweeney.

He had vowed to keep his 'mum' save forever more, so Toby of all people knew the ties love binds to innocent people. Sometimes it was so much so they would be willing to kill for it, especially in the deranged, senseless state Sweeney had become accustomed to. Toby knew better than to question his findings, as he had grown up with the classic belief of respecting your elders being drummed in to him.

Being curious was one of Toby's few undesirable attributes, so he couldn't resist the temptation to flick through a few pages. He knew Sweeney must have made a recent killing despite his new feelings of fulfillment and happiness. What had happened? Toby began to feel dizzy- he wished he had never opened the small book in the first place just so he could be the innocent boy he once was.  What he saw contained in the pages was shocked him so much he fell to the floor, the veil of shock beating down on him so he could scarcely breathe.

'Sweeney...I...' was all Nellie could say. Sweeney was not the best at keeping secrets, which was surprising seeing as he was so far managing to keep the secret of more than a hundred murders to himself and Nellie, but true all the same.

This was a different kind of secret.

The prospect of moving to the sea was a massive shock to Nellie, almost as shocking as the one Toby had experienced less than a minute ago. This however, gave Nellie indescribable pleasure. As if being in a relationship with Sweeney wasn't enough, he had listened to her dream and they were now carrying out the dream and getting married! Nellie's feet became unsteady with the shock of this discovery, and slipped down onto the silky bed.

This movement had been sudden, and she would have banged her head on the hard wooden headrest, but, before contact was made, a firm arm grabbed her waist and stopped her from falling.

Toby had become less alarmed as he continued reading and everything began to sink in. He had always believed Mr Todd was just a kind man with a slightly messed up past and a short fuse, and he still stood by this belief.

He had found that Mr Todd had been cleaning his razors when he came across a body. A long forgotten about, festering body. The owner of the body had been killed long ago, but the day said owner died was an eventful one. No- one had bothered to make the rotting flesh into a pie because they had more pressing affairs to deal with.

Toby figured, after the initial disgust at this idea, that this person would have made a succulent pie which many people would enjoy eating. No one ever tasted this pie though and the unusual pie had never been made because this had been the last use of the revolving chair, the last proper murder, and the night the machines downstairs had been switched off for good.

Reading this, Toby knew that Sweeney Todd had changed.

The state in which Sweeney found the body in was purely disgusting. He had smelt it before he saw it; the whole room was submerged in the smell of rotting flesh. It was all Sweeney could do not to run back upstairs and never enter the room again, but still he advanced forward. Some of the body's limbs had begun to disintegrate onto the damp floor and the face of the corpse was so covered in blood and maggots, it was barely recognisable.

The only feature Sweeney recognised was the three stab wounds, the broken neck and the slit in the victim's throat, a barber's gown carelessly draped around him, the same colour as his now blood encrusted white hair.

As Toby continued to read the diary things started to make sense: the sudden disappearance of Pirelli and the most notorious judge in London, the disgusting smell coming from the bake house downstairs, and most of all how mysterious Sweeney was.

Toby was relieved it was all over and there would be a fresh start so Sweeney wouldn't have to carry on like this and he and Nellie could share a happy life together. He would have a proper family at last, now that the last of Sweeney's victims had been disposed of properly.

Smiling to himself, pleased he had been accidentally let into to one of the biggest secrets he had ever heard, Toby slipped the diary back into the drawer, making sure not to pack it. Everything would be forgotten forever.

Toby carried on washing the long- top so it would look be in pristine condition for the next owner of the pie shop and attached house that the three of them would never see again.

The house and attached shop that held so many memories and horrors. The new owners would probably never find out about any of them.

'Hey, weren't Anthony and Johanna meant to be staying with us sometime soon sweetheart? Not much chance of that, eh, seeing as we've moved and all' Nellie chuckled as she tried to make a light conversation with her fiancée as they admired their beautiful new house, trying not to make this a serious issue. The new house was quite small but very beautiful in its own way. It was just big enough for the compact family and was in a pleasant and secluded area. It seemed as if it was just them, like they privately owned their own world.

Whistling wind provided a pleasant song in the background and waves threw themselves against the rocks with gentle cheer whilst birds sang from all corners. Relaxing against Sweeney, Nellie realised just how glad she was to be away from London and by the sea.

Dreams had never come true for her, but now she was living one and there would be no one to disturb it – her, her son, her fiancée, a beautiful house to decorate in a beautiful location...everything would be perfect. Seconds were passing by slowly as the couple silently linked arms and gazed at their new house and fondly watched Toby as he fiddled with some crumpled paper and attempted to conjure up a paper aeroplane. He wasn't succeeding.Waves continued to thrash against rocks and lick the sand. Sometimes a piece of driftwood or a tangle of seaweed would be deposited on the sand. With every wave, Nellie felt their own life being washed away.

Minutes had now passed and Nellie had instead begun to think about how she would make the house look pretty as she was never one for thinking about the same subject for a while. Sweeney remained impossible to read, his brow furrowed in concentration. Several times, he looked as if he was about to speak and several times Nellie twitched her head toward him in reaction to him opening his mouth. Sweeney would close his mouth and returned to staring at the house.

He looked neither happy or sad, just concentrated and content. Nellie admired him but was sure he did not even sense this.

The house didn't even seem his point of focus anymore, it was like he was looking through it, and Nellie longed to know what he was thinking but couldn't ask. Her blurting out words did have a limit.

Toby had looked up from the crumpled mess of paper he had been so concentrated on before. If someone had dropped a pin, it would have been heard, the atmosphere was so silent.

Sweeney suddenly cleared his throat, making them both jump,as he said 'Well, I sent them a letter and they are coming to stay for a few days tomorrow'. Nellie had forgotten she had even asked Sweeney a question, but something about the atmosphere and Sweeney's tone of voice told her that that wasn't all he had to say and feel on the matter. 

'Introverts are cute but damn hard to read', thought Nellie, smiling slightly as a happy tear trickled from a eye. Sweeney squeezed her hand fondly, which only made her cry harder.